Ways and Means
by reen212000
Summary: Missing scene for Travelers. John Sheppard was going home. No matter what. What happened between the rendevous and the mess hall. Title from a Snow Patrol song.


Disclaimer: I sure don't own them. Just borrowing them. Honest!

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John Sheppard wasn't one to run from many things. Yet, here he was, bone tired, starving, thirsty, and running towards freedom. _Before she changes her mind._

The derelict ship greeted him happily when he first arrived. John wasn't sure if it was having his bell rung earlier, or his presence on the vessel that made him woozy. Nevertheless, the ship, _Penthelisea_, granted him access to everything. Her new pilot reeled from the information; it had been a millennia since she had a competent pilot. The ship detected the signature of a flying city called Atlantis in his touch, giving him coordinates to the space gate.

John sent his thanks, and now he wanted to leave. Reluctantly, she allowed him access to her gateships. John felt the hesitancy and urged the Ancient ship to let him go. He was running on pure adrenaline now, and he would use everything he had to get into space. The colonel wanted to be home yesterday.

He entered the launch bay tired and aching, he had bruises on top of bruises now, and needed water more than anything. His skin still tingled with the after effects of the close range stunner blast. Working as quickly as he could, John asked the ship to let him launch. The response was sluggish, but soon he was away. _Penthelisea_ quickly fed him information, overwhelming his senses. Another gateship was in the area.

_Thank you._

John cloaked his jumper as the larger ships moved towards their hyperspace windows. Using the coordinates provided, he steered his way home. He hoped. The farther away he was from the battleship, the harder it was for him to relax. The pilot watched his hands shake over the controls. Wishing for a fully stocked backpack, John thought perhaps making a detour to the next planet just for water.

The HUD sprang to life with a beep. A gateship bearing a familiar signature was closer. Puddlejumper Four. John closed his eyes, until the strong, clear voice of his 2IC came over the comm.

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Major Lorne. Is that you?"

Exhaling a breath he didn't know he held, the colonel answered. "That's affirmative, Major. It's good to hear from you."

"Likewise, sir! Seemed like we came pretty close to losing you there."

John shuddered as his mind flashed back on his ordeal. "You don't know the half of it."

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Rodney McKay was not one to give up on many things. This time, his best friend had been kidnapped nearly two days ago. Vanished, without a trace. Rodney could find a great deal of things in this galaxy. But the disappeared was a bit out of his realm of expertise.

It wasn't that he was ignoring Ronon, Teyla, and their very determined pilot, Major Lorne. The equations and statistics and percentages were jumbled up in his mind, overlapping one another. But they all said the same thing: Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard was gone. His protagonist, his nemesis, the only person on this team who could answer math with math... The only person that he could tell his wildest solutions to, was missing. Rodney felt unbalanced, needing to just ramble and have someone interrupt him with obscure pop culture references and ridiculous out-of-the-box solutions.

_He'll find his way back. He always does._

The HUD beeped plaintively as it stretched across the windshield of the 'jumper. Four ships were just ahead, one of Lantean design, the others a hodge-podge of design. Shortly after they were discovered, all four leapt into hyperspace.

Rodney's heart froze; the colonel was gone again, slipping out of his grasp. But then another blip appeared on the screen. A cloaked 'jumper. It can't be... "It's a 'jumper! One life sign."

Major Lorne nodded. "Colonel Sheppard, this is Major Lorne. Is that you?"

"That's affirmative, Major. It's good to hear from you."

Lorne couldn't help smiling. "Likewise, sir! Seemed like we came pretty close to losing you there."

"You don't know the half of it."

"Understood. How 'bout you lead, Colonel."

"Yes, so I can keep an eye on you," Rodney mumbled.

The major had heard and even witnessed those times when his CO and the chief scientist would not stay still until they knew the other was well. As he watched the fidgety McKay, Lorne knew this was the case. _The hatch won't open soon enough for him, will it?_

With concern, the major followed the 'jumper towards the stargate. The small ship wandered slightly off course a few times, and corrected quickly. The colonel sounded utterly exhausted over the radio; whatever happened to his CO had taken its toll on the man. I'm not gonna like this story, am I?

As soon as the 'jumper came to a stop, Rodney was out of his chair, and impatiently moving his hands. Lorne could see him calculating how he could adjust the debarkation, how he could make it faster. Before the hatch door hit the ground, McKay hopped off the ramp and, again, patiently waiting for the other 'jumper to let him in.

The interior was dark, and the pilot had yet to move from his seat. Rodney thought about every horror movie involving this very scene as he reached to turn the seat around. John was slouched down in the seat as if holding his head up was too difficult. Taking a deep breath, he lay a hand on John's sleeve. The colonel flinched, and rolled his head against the back of the seat in the direction of the hand.

"Hey, Rodney," John said, his voice barely a whisper.

"Hey." McKay's voice was flat with concern. He began snapping his fingers at the others, demanding water. "Drink it slowly, Colonel. Hate to add oxygen deprivation to what I'm sure is a long list of problems."

John weakly shook his head. "'m fine, jest tired and a little hungry."

"I see," Rodney said, frowning. "So the cut over your eye, on your cheek, and the fat lip are the result of...?"

"Please, Rodney," Teyla said softly. "I am certain Doctor Keller will take care of what is wrong."

"Sir? You okay?" Lorne looked over McKay's shoulder, trying to see in the dim light of the 'jumper.

"Does he look okay? We don't even know where he's –"

"I believe the major is trying to ascertain whether we should call the doctor." Teyla interrupted, noticing the look in the colonel's eye as the two men began to argue. She had often heard it said John had a fight or flight gene stronger than his ATA gene.

Sheppard leaned forward, attempting to rise. "No, I'm fine. I can walk." When he finally gained his feet, John let out a gasp. "Okay, sore and tired and hungry." Shower, nap, food. Well, maybe shower, food, nap... With the first step he listed into Rodney, who curled a heavy hand around the colonel's elbow. Another hiss of pain had the scientist gentling his grasp.

"Sorry, sorry," McKay said, accepting more of the colonel's weight as they limped along. He finally handed over his laptop to Teyla, and led Sheppard out of the small ship. "Morse code, huh?"

John smiled as much as his aching jaw would allow. "Knew you'd figure it out."

"Of course I did," McKay said smugly. "And I'm sure half the galaxy did, too."

Wincing, the colonel flashed back on Larrin and her flying fist. The memory reawakened the headache he was trying to stave off. Along with the brightened lights, Atlantis welcomed him back with a low hum throbbing at the base of his skull. The journey to the infirmary was a blur; John vaguely remembered telling Carter that he would brief her soon. He did however remember the look of concern and inquisitiveness warring on her face. Had he said something else? Probably.

When they reached the medical bay, Jennifer Keller saw her next patient immediately. The colonel was supported on both sides by his 2IC and McKay, babbling about Wraith and someone or something called Larrin. Since Sheppard didn't have a fever, she assumed it was exhaustion. Thankfully, he wasn't bleeding anywhere, and the few cuts had already closed up. As they lowered him down to the bed, a small whimper escaped his lips. Unbuttoning the stiff cotton shirt, the doctor examined the collection of bruises on John's torso.

His team, plus Lorne stood anxiously to the side as they watched John drift into sleep. The doctor motioned for her nurses to settle the colonel.

"Is he supposed to be asleep?" Rodney asked, once again clutching his computer. "I mean, he might have a concussion or whatever."

Keller smiled sympathetically. "He's bruised up, but he'll be okay. We'll keep an eye on him for now. Looks like he just needs the rest." She appraised the other four, wondering how often exactly Carson Beckett had to shoo them off. "Come back in a couple hours, and I'll let you know how he is, okay?" She watched them leave, knowing for once, they didn't have to worry about John Sheppard.

This time.

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"Penthelisea?" McKay asked with a bemused grin. "Wasn't she an Amazon killed by Achilles?" He shook his head briefly. _Ancients and their names!_

"What is an Amazon?" Teyla wondered. In bantos training, a few Marines had deferred to her as such.

McKay and Sheppard glanced at each other, and the colonel smiled as he cut another piece of meat. He raised his eyebrows at his closest friend.

Taking the hint, McKay let his fork rest on the plate. "Long story short, they were a somewhat mythical group of warrior women who lived ages ago, and fought in battles against men. According to the myth, Achilles killed Penthelisea, who was queen of the Amazons. He fell in love with her as she died."

"That is tragic. And this... Achilles?" Teyla had a glint of fascination in her eye; she had read some of these myths and legends of Earth, and found them intriguing.

"He was a Greek demi-god who fought in the Trojan War. Interestingly, he was immortal everywhere but his heel. His only weakness, really." He turned to Sheppard, who was happily working his way through his plate. "What about the ship? Or Larrin, for that matter?"

The colonel said nothing, and contemplated his plate. Smiling brightly, he raised his forkful of food. "Mmm! That's good!"

"Really." McKay let his suspicious frown set in as his friend avoided eye contact.

Sheppard wanted to tell them everything, but he wasn't sure of the outcome. "Mmm," he mumbled. _A change of direction maybe?_ "Spend enough time with a bunch of space nomads, you really begin to appreciate what you have."

"It is difficult to imagine spending one's entire life on board a ship." Teyla glanced at her team leader as he gave a noncommittal tilt of his head and a murmured answer. _What happened while he was there?_

"If that was me, I'd go crazy," Ronon chimed in, his eyes moving warily between Sheppard and McKay.

A sad smile lifted a corner of Sheppard's mouth. "They're not exactly the most even-keeled people. I'm still not exactly sure why they let me go."

Teyla seemed to weigh her next words carefully. "Well, you did offer them an alliance. That has to be worth something."

"Or they figured out you'd be more trouble than you're worth," the Satedan responded, this time looking directly at Sheppard.

Another noncommittal expression accompanied by an indifferent shrug. "That _is_ a possibility."

Rodney fought the urge to throw up his hands in frustration. Instead, he used the patented _I'm a Genius and You're Not_ glare. _This is useless! He's avoiding something._ "No, there's something you're not telling us."

The colonel looked down and away, finding his plate very interesting at the moment.

_Great! Another one!_ "She was hot, wasn't she?"

Taking great care in cutting his meat, John thought it best not to look up. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh! I knew it!" Now McKay crossed his arms tighter. "That is so typical!"

Nearly giving up on eating any further, Sheppard glared at his companion. "She had me beat, Rodney." He heard the exasperated sigh from McKay. He had to understand, it wasn't like that. It's never like that! "She threatened to kill me several times. It wasn't like we were hanging out in the spa together."

"Whatever! All I know is that every time I get taken captive, it's the Wraith. Just once, I would like to be taken prisoner by the sexy alien."

Sheppard gave another sad smile, his eyes held worry. "Well, you may still get a chance."

"Yeah?" Ronon leaned forward in his seat. "What do you mean?"

Choosing a point just over Rodney's shoulder, Sheppard calculated the possibilities. "She's still out there."

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Okay, I totally apologize! This is not one of my best, but I had to write it down.


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